May 15, 2025 • 25 mins
What does it truly mean to have a biblical worldview? This question strikes at the heart of authentic Christian living in a world filled with competing perspectives. The framework through which we interpret reality—our worldview—shapes everything from our daily decisions to our deepest beliefs. Yet many believers unknowingly view life through lenses tainted by secular humanism, materialism, or postmodernism rather than Scripture.
A genuine biblical worldview begins with recognizing God as Creator and Sovereign Lord. It acknowledges truth as objective and found in Scripture. It understands that humans, while created in God's image, are fundamentally fallen and in need of redemption that comes exclusively through Jesus Christ. These foundational beliefs shape how we interpret everything around us—from current events to personal relationships.
The culture constantly pressures us to adopt alternative worldviews. Secular humanism places mankind at the center of all things. Materialism reduces life's purpose to acquiring possessions and success. Postmodernism denies absolute truth, while moral relativism suggests right and wrong are merely personal constructs. Christians must recognize these competing perspectives and intentionally choose to see life through Scripture's lens instead.
When properly applied, a biblical worldview transforms every aspect of life. It guides our decision-making, shapes our work ethic, strengthens our relationships, establishes our moral standards, and directs our cultural engagement. We become salt and light in a changing world while remaining anchored to God's timeless truth. This doesn't happen accidentally—it requires regular Bible study, careful evaluation of cultural influences, and the commitment to view all of life through Scripture first. How might your perspective change if you truly saw everything through the lens of God's Word?
Stock Music provided by wolfgangwoehrle, from Pond5
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a
show focused on helpingChristians to think biblically,
engage practically and livefaithfully for the glory of God.
I'm your host, jonathan Soule,and on this episode I want to
talk about worldview, biblicalworldview, and the overarching
question that I'm asking is whatdoes it mean to have a biblical
(00:30):
worldview?
I think an important questionthat we can, even you know to
follow up with that is how doyou view the world?
Through what lens do youinterpret life?
And how you answer thisquestion will reveal your
worldview.
Is it a biblical worldview?
(00:50):
And so when we define what aworldview is, it's the framework
through which we interpretreality, lens that we wear, how
we understand the things thatare going on in our world and
how we relate to those things.
All of that is influenced byour worldview, and this matters
(01:15):
tremendously because everysingle person alive, thinking,
cognitive person has a worldview, but not all worldviews are the
same.
Not all worldviews are equaland not all worldviews are based
on truth.
So the goal here of thisepisode is to help Christians
(01:38):
see all of life through the lensof Scripture, so that our
worldview is interpreted or ourlens goes through Scripture,
instead of kind of interpretingthe world and then looking to
Scripture.
We look to Scripture tointerpret the world.
And so what is a biblicalworldview?
(01:59):
I think, simply put, it meansseeing life through the truth of
God's word.
So what does this look likethen?
What are some key aspects of abiblical worldview that helps us
to understand reality as weknow it?
(02:22):
Well, I think, foundationally,biblical worldview starts in the
first book, in the firstchapter, in the first verse, and
there's an assumption there bythe author, moses, concerning
his biblical worldview, and hisworldview presupposes the
existence of God Genesis 1.1,.
(02:42):
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
Foundational to every Christianbiblical worldview is that God
is eternal and God is thecreator.
God is the creator of allthings, but this isn't only
mentioned in the beginning ofthe Bible.
(03:02):
Also, in Colossians 1, verse 16, paul leans into this as well,
talking about Jesus, and he saysFor by him all things were
created, in heaven and on earth,visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulersor authorities.
All things were created throughhim and for him, and he is
(03:25):
before all things, and in himall things hold together.
Okay, so there are kind of twothings going on here Genesis 1.1
and Colossians 1.16 and 17establish that God in Christ is
the creator of all things,visible and invisible, but also
(03:49):
that God is the sovereign Lordof all things.
As creator, he is over allthings and he controls and rules
all things, and so this isfoundational.
As we would understand,everything around us is under
the creator's sovereign rule.
(04:10):
He is Lord of all.
Here's another key aspect of abiblical worldview Truth is
objective.
Truth is truth.
Again, it's not based off ofone's feelings, it's not
(04:32):
subjective, it's not, well youknow, relative.
It's objectively true.
And that statement itself is anobjective truth claim.
And truth not only is objective, but it is found in Scripture,
(04:55):
john 17, 17.
Jesus says, as His highpriestly prayer to the Father
Sanctify them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
Truth is not what you think itis.
Truth is not necessarily howyou define it.
Truth is objective.
Truth is defined as God definesit, as God speaks.
(05:16):
That is truth.
His word is truth and we alsorecognize that when we say his
word, his spoken word, hiswritten word.
2 Timothy 3, his spoken word,his written word.
Second Timothy, chapter three,verse 16, reads all scripture is
breathed out by God and isprofitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction and fortraining in righteousness.
(05:38):
So when you put John 17, 17,and you, you attach that to 2
Timothy 3.16, we can see thatGod's word is truth and because
all scripture is breathed out byGod, therefore all scripture is
truth.
Another key aspect to a biblicalworldview is our anthropology,
(06:03):
which means the study of man, orwe can also say, the truth of
man.
And the Bible is very clearconcerning humanity and mankind.
Mankind is created in the imageof God on the sixth day of
creation.
It is the pinnacle of hiscreation in that it is very good
, but mankind falls.
Mankind sins and does thatwhich is displeasing to God, to
(06:29):
where we find in Romans, chapter3,.
This again helps shape ourunderstanding of humanity.
Romans 3, verse 23,.
For all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.
I want you to note all.
Now it does not say for somehave sinned and fallen short of
the glory of God, but all havesinned, all have gone against
(06:52):
God's law, all have broken God'scommands, all have sinned, all
are sinners.
This is extremely importantbecause if we ask the question,
why do people do the things thatthey do?
Well, if we don't have aChristian biblical worldview.
We can have all kinds of crazyanswers that are all over the
(07:15):
place, but at the very essence,at the very core of why bad
things happen, why people actthe way they do, especially on
the negative side, is becausethey are sinful, because they
have in Adam.
All have sinned, all havereceived the sin nature and all
(07:36):
commit sins.
Truly.
When we start to explore this,when it comes to creation, when
it comes to objective truth andthe truth of man and man is
sinful, it's only the Christianbiblical worldview that actually
helps to make sense of all theworld around us.
Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1through 5.
Speaking of humanity, paul saysand you were dead in the
(07:59):
trespasses and sins in which youonce walked, following the
course of this world, followingthe prince of the power of the
air.
The course of this world,following the prince of the
power of the air, the spiritthat is now at work in the sons
of disobedience among whom weall once lived, in the passions
of our flesh, carrying out thedesires of the body and the mind
and were, by nature, childrenof wrath, like the rest of
(08:20):
mankind.
Paul's not painting a prettypicture here All humanity acting
true to their nature, thatwhich is that comes from the
internal desires, desires of thebody, desires of the flesh,
desires of the mind.
And he says that we are sons ofdisobedience, we are following
(08:41):
our own way, we're followingwhat guides us, what we think is
right in our own eyes, left toour natural self.
And this also shows anddemonstrates the need for
mankind to be redeemed.
Something has to occur in humanexperience that can change the
(09:03):
course here.
Because again, as he says, weall were dead in our trespasses
and sins.
Dead people aren't changingcourse, they're going to
continue in that state thatthey're in.
And so mankind is sinful.
And it tells us the need forredemption.
Again the passage goes on intoverse 4 of Ephesians 2,.
But God, being rich in mercybecause of the great love in
(09:27):
which he has loved us even whenwe were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together withChrist.
By grace, you have been saved.
We need God to work in thelives of dead people to make
them alive in Christ.
And that again goes to kind ofthe culmination, the pinnacle of
the Bible that shapes ourworldview.
(09:48):
Jesus Christ is the only way tosalvation.
Mankind is hopeless apart fromthe person in work of Jesus
Christ.
But that's stated in thenegative.
Here's the positive.
There is hope for all ofmankind in the person and work
of Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world thathe sent his one and only son,
(10:12):
his only begotten son, thatwhoever believes in him shall
not perish but have everlastinglife.
There's hope in Christ, andJesus himself says I am the way.
In John 14, 6, the truth and thelife.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me.
So Jesus claims exclusivity.
(10:40):
To get to the Father, to get toheaven, to experience eternal
life in the presence of God,goes through the second member
of the Trinity, god in the flesh, jesus Christ.
The second member of theTrinity, god in the flesh, jesus
Christ.
This is foundational to theChristian biblical worldview.
You can't have a Christianworldview apart from
understanding.
Jesus is the only way tosalvation.
The apostles at the beginningof Acts recognize this as well.
(11:04):
In Acts, chapter 4, verse 12,peter proclaims there is
salvation in no one else, forthere is no other name under
heaven given among men by whichwe must be saved.
We must, as Christians in ourbiblical worldview, stand on the
(11:24):
exclusivity of Jesus alone forsalvation.
And it's not Jesus plus thechurch, it's not Jesus plus
something else.
It's not Jesus and it's Jesusalone.
There's salvation in no oneelse.
Another way.
There's salvation in nothingelse.
All religions do not lead toGod.
Nothing else, all religions donot lead to God.
(11:49):
Christ himself is the path tothe Father, as he himself claims
.
And then again, think about ourpurpose.
What is our purpose?
Why are we here?
I mean, this is one of thegreat existential questions.
Why am I alive?
What is my purpose in thisworld?
(12:18):
The Bible helps to shape ourworldview and understanding our
purpose.
In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31,we are told whatever you do,
whether you eat or drink, do allto the glory of God.
So here, from the smallest ofthings to eating a meal or
having a sip of water orsomething, from the lowest to
the greatest, whatever the thingis that you do, do it to the
(12:38):
glory of God.
This means your purpose.
My purpose for being is toglorify the God who created me,
who is the sovereign Lord, whohas spoken objective truth, who
has revealed this truth in hisword, who has given the means of
(12:58):
redemption through Jesus Christ, the only way of salvation.
My job is to glorify him forwho he is and what he has done.
Matthew, chapter 22, verse 37.
Jesus is asked what is thegreatest commandment?
And he said you shall love theLord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your soul andwith all your mind.
(13:19):
This is the first and greatcommandment.
And the second is like it youshall love your neighbor as
yourself.
On these two commandmentsdepend all the law and the
prophets.
There's our purpose to love Godand to love our neighbor.
This comes to a biblicalworldview.
(13:42):
Well, if it was that simple, weall would just adopt this.
But we have competingworldviews that affect us even
as Christians.
As we try to think biblically,engage practically and live
faithfully, we recognize thereare competing worldviews.
And so let me just kind of shedsome light on some of the
(14:04):
various worldviews that arealive and well in our culture
today.
And again, by identifying them,we can try to isolate them and
push them aside and not let themkind of mix within our
Christianity.
And the first is secularhumanism.
Secular humanism believes thatman is at the center of all
(14:25):
things, believes that man is atthe center of all things, so
that the core of everything isthat man is happy, that mankind,
that all things exist and werecreated and serve man, I am at
the center of my life.
Everything that happensrevolves around me.
(14:47):
Now, that is certainly truewhen you're living a life
contrary to the scriptures.
It's certainly true when you'reliving according to Ephesians 1
, our own desires, the passionsof our flesh, our mind carrying
out the desires of the body.
That sounds very much likesecular humanism.
In the natural state of mankind, the unredeemed person, this is
(15:08):
their natural way of life andit's terrible.
Truth becomes relative when manbecomes the measure of all
things.
We must ask where is God?
God then becomes the servant ofmankind.
Now you mix that withChristianity, then the gospel
(15:30):
message, mixed with secularhumanism, sounds something like
the gospel is for you so thatyou don't go to hell when you
die.
The gospel is for you so thatyour life will have greater
purpose on earth.
And while those things are true, it still makes the gospel
about humanity when we have tounderstand.
(15:52):
The gospel is about the gloryof God in Jesus Christ and we
receive benefits of therighteousness and the obedience
and the sacrifice of the Son tothe Father and the obedience and
the sacrifice of the Son to theFather.
Here's another worldview that'salive and well in our culture,
competing with the biblicalworldview that's materialism.
(16:13):
Life is about possessions andsuccess.
Well, I don't think we have tolook far to see where this
worldview has collided with abiblical worldview and actually
has then kind of morphedtogether as the prosperity
gospel.
God wants you to have thosepossessions, god wants you to
have all this success, and so wetry to bring these two things
(16:33):
together and it creates a falseworldview.
But materialism as a secularthing is challenging.
Life is about possessions andsuccess.
I'm reminded of Jesus'sconversation with the rich young
ruler, which goes completelyagainst this.
He comes to Jesus and he sayswhat must I do to inherit
(16:57):
eternal life?
He's coming from amaterialistic worldview.
He's got to do something else.
He's got to acquire somethingelse to get eternal life.
Jesus says go.
You know, looking at him, lovedhim says go, sell all that you
have and give to the poor andcome follow me.
Now what Jesus is doing here ishe's attacking his idol.
(17:17):
He recognizes and knows thatthis rich young man has spent
his life acquiring for himselfpossessions, success, status.
And Jesus says materialism andChristianity will not mix, they
will not do.
If you want to follow me, youmust sacrifice your idols, your
(17:40):
worldview, and become mydisciple.
Materialism is all over,especially in the West, the
accumulation of stuff, the drivefor success, and it becomes
cutthroat.
We don't love our neighbor, wewant to get past our neighbor,
we want to crush our neighbor sothat we can rise in the
corporate ladder, and it goesagainst the biblical worldview.
(18:01):
Here's another one.
And it goes against thebiblical worldview.
Here's another onepostmodernism.
Postmodernism is a difficult andlarge term to define.
Let me just simply say, at itsvery core, at its tenets, the
belief is that there is noabsolute truth.
Even that statement kind offrustrates me, because that's an
absolute statement, buteverybody has their own truth.
(18:24):
So speak your truth, or?
Well, that can be true for you.
And this is now seen as theworldview of tolerance.
We, as it's, reaching a higherideal than Christianity, because
now we become tolerant.
(18:44):
You can believe what you needto believe.
Just don't impose your beliefson me.
That's my truth, that's yourtruth.
Again, this view that there isno absolute truth, I mean it's a
fallacy and we do recognizethat again, this goes against
the Christian biblical worldview.
So how does this mix withChristianity and create a
tainted worldview?
We bring postmodernism into ourunderstanding of Christianity
(19:10):
and we say well, this is truefor me.
I believe in Jesus Christ.
I believe that this is the waythat I'm supposed to live, but
who am I to tell that to someoneelse?
This is my truth and it's theirtruth if they believe it.
But if it's not, that's amixture, that's not a biblical
worldview, and so we need tofight against this kind of speak
(19:31):
your truth, I have my truth.
Postmodernism mixing withChristianity, also moral
relativism, which goes hand inhand.
It's probably almost asubcategory of postmodernism
that right and wrong are basedon one's personal or cultural
beliefs.
You can't tell me what's rightand wrong.
This is moral relativism.
(19:53):
And we look as Christians andsay the Ten Commandments tells
us what's right and wrong.
I don't get to define what'strue, I don't get to define
what's right and I don't get todefine what's wrong.
There are morals and they'renot relative.
They've been given by God, andwe also need to understand again
in our life and in our worldtoday that Christianity is
(20:16):
itself its own worldview andagain, this worldview states
that truth comes from God andour purpose is to know and to
glorify him.
And so I want to caution you andI want you to think about how
you view the world, whether itbe how you think about and see
other people, your reason forwhy they do the things they do,
(20:37):
your religious and politicalviews, how they come together.
There's a danger that manyChristians unknowingly adopt
non-biblical worldviews.
So I want to challenge you tothink carefully about how you
understand life.
Is there secular humanism,materialism, postmodernism,
moral relativism mixed with aform of Christian worldview?
(21:00):
And so let's think carefullyhow, then, biblical worldview
can transform everyday life forus as Christians, and I want to
give you a few points here.
First, a biblical worldviewhelps transform our life through
decision-making.
Psalm 119, 105 says your wordis a lamp to my feet and a light
(21:22):
to my path.
Here God's word helps guide ourlife, to shape our life in the
decisions that we make.
But more than just our decisionmaking, biblical worldview
transforms everyday life throughour work and our vocation.
Writing to the Colossians inchapter 3, verse 23, paul says
(21:43):
Whatever you do, work heartilyas for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord youwill receive the inheritance as
your reward.
Our work and our vocation isunto God, not to just simply our
employer, and I want toencourage you with this If you
are working unto God, you willbe the perpetual employee of the
(22:06):
month.
You will be the best worker inyour workplace.
Biblical worldview shapes andtransforms everyday life.
Through our relationships andour families we show biblical
love.
Our marriages are shaped byEphesians, chapter 5.
Husbands loving their wives,laying down their lives for
(22:28):
their wives 1 Peter, chapter 3,wives respecting their husbands
and again, in that wholerelationship, complimenting one
another and honoring andglorifying God in the home.
Parenting Paul addresses thisin Ephesians, chapter 6.
Fathers are not to provoketheir children but to discipline
(22:51):
them in love, to raise them upas they should.
Our ethics and morality we standfor biblical truth in a
compromised culture.
This is important to us becausewe stand against all the
worldviews that are present inour world today.
We're not conformed to thisworld, paul says, but we're
(23:11):
transformed by the renewal ofour mind that by testing you may
discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and
perfect.
So we are to stand for biblicalethics and morality, not based
off of what's going on in thesocial political world, but what
is contained in the word of God, and in doing so we engage our
(23:35):
culture faithfully.
Matthew, chapter 5, verse 13,.
Jesus says you are the salt ofthe earth.
But if the salt has lost itstaste, how shall its saltiness
be restored?
It is no longer good foranything except to be thrown out
and trampled under people'sfeet.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot behidden.
Nor do people light a lamp andput it under a basket, but on a
(23:58):
stand, and it gives light to allin the house In the same way.
Let your light shine beforeothers so that they may see your
good works and give glory toyour Father who is in heaven.
Be salt and light in our world.
Engage our culture through andwith a Christian biblical
worldview.
So let me encourage you Abiblical worldview must be
(24:23):
intentional.
It does not happen by accident.
You do not stumble into aChristian biblical worldview.
So let me encourage you Be inthe Bible.
It's hard to develop a biblicalworldview apart from the Bible.
Regular study of scripture iskey 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse
15.
(24:44):
Paul tells Timothy to study, toshow himself approved, rightly
handling the word of truth,cutting it straight.
So let me challenge you toevaluate your own worldview.
Where has it and is it shapedby culture instead of Scripture?
And I pray for you and all ofus that we would have wisdom and
(25:06):
discernment to live accordingto God's truth, the timeless
truth, a worldview that neverchanges, although our world is
constantly changing.
This is the constant God'struth and God's word abides
forever.
I want to thank you forlistening to the Pleasing God
podcast.
(25:27):
If you have any questions, I'dlove to hear from you.
You could reach out atquestions at
pleasinggodpodcastorg.
And remember 1 Thessalonians4.3,.
This is the will of God forsanctification.
Hi and welcome back to the Pleasing God podcast, a
show focused on helpingChristians to think biblically,
engage practically and livefaithfully for the glory of God.
I'm your host, jonathan Soule,and on this episode I want to
talk about worldview, biblicalworldview, and the overarching
question that I'm asking is whatdoes it mean to have a biblical
(00:30):
worldview?
I think an important questionthat we can, even you know to
follow up with that is how doyou view the world?
Through what lens do youinterpret life?
And how you answer thisquestion will reveal your
worldview.
Is it a biblical worldview?
(00:50):
And so when we define what aworldview is, it's the framework
through which we interpretreality, lens that we wear, how
we understand the things thatare going on in our world and
how we relate to those things.
All of that is influenced byour worldview, and this matters
(01:15):
tremendously because everysingle person alive, thinking,
cognitive person has a worldview, but not all worldviews are the
same.
Not all worldviews are equaland not all worldviews are based
on truth.
So the goal here of thisepisode is to help Christians
(01:38):
see all of life through the lensof Scripture, so that our
worldview is interpreted or ourlens goes through Scripture,
instead of kind of interpretingthe world and then looking to
Scripture.
We look to Scripture tointerpret the world.
And so what is a biblicalworldview?
(01:59):
I think, simply put, it meansseeing life through the truth of
God's word.
So what does this look likethen?
What are some key aspects of abiblical worldview that helps us
to understand reality as weknow it?
(02:22):
Well, I think, foundationally,biblical worldview starts in the
first book, in the firstchapter, in the first verse, and
there's an assumption there bythe author, moses, concerning
his biblical worldview, and hisworldview presupposes the
existence of God Genesis 1.1,.
(02:42):
In the beginning, god createdthe heavens and the earth.
Foundational to every Christianbiblical worldview is that God
is eternal and God is thecreator.
God is the creator of allthings, but this isn't only
mentioned in the beginning ofthe Bible.
(03:02):
Also, in Colossians 1, verse 16, paul leans into this as well,
talking about Jesus, and he saysFor by him all things were
created, in heaven and on earth,visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulersor authorities.
All things were created throughhim and for him, and he is
(03:25):
before all things, and in himall things hold together.
Okay, so there are kind of twothings going on here Genesis 1.1
and Colossians 1.16 and 17establish that God in Christ is
the creator of all things,visible and invisible, but also
(03:49):
that God is the sovereign Lordof all things.
As creator, he is over allthings and he controls and rules
all things, and so this isfoundational.
As we would understand,everything around us is under
the creator's sovereign rule.
(04:10):
He is Lord of all.
Here's another key aspect of abiblical worldview Truth is
objective.
Truth is truth.
Again, it's not based off ofone's feelings, it's not
(04:32):
subjective, it's not, well youknow, relative.
It's objectively true.
And that statement itself is anobjective truth claim.
And truth not only is objective, but it is found in Scripture,
(04:55):
john 17, 17.
Jesus says, as His highpriestly prayer to the Father
Sanctify them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
Truth is not what you think itis.
Truth is not necessarily howyou define it.
Truth is objective.
Truth is defined as God definesit, as God speaks.
(05:16):
That is truth.
His word is truth and we alsorecognize that when we say his
word, his spoken word, hiswritten word.
2 Timothy 3, his spoken word,his written word.
Second Timothy, chapter three,verse 16, reads all scripture is
breathed out by God and isprofitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction and fortraining in righteousness.
(05:38):
So when you put John 17, 17,and you, you attach that to 2
Timothy 3.16, we can see thatGod's word is truth and because
all scripture is breathed out byGod, therefore all scripture is
truth.
Another key aspect to a biblicalworldview is our anthropology,
(06:03):
which means the study of man, orwe can also say, the truth of
man.
And the Bible is very clearconcerning humanity and mankind.
Mankind is created in the imageof God on the sixth day of
creation.
It is the pinnacle of hiscreation in that it is very good
, but mankind falls.
Mankind sins and does thatwhich is displeasing to God, to
(06:29):
where we find in Romans, chapter3,.
This again helps shape ourunderstanding of humanity.
Romans 3, verse 23,.
For all have sinned and fallshort of the glory of God.
I want you to note all.
Now it does not say for somehave sinned and fallen short of
the glory of God, but all havesinned, all have gone against
(06:52):
God's law, all have broken God'scommands, all have sinned, all
are sinners.
This is extremely importantbecause if we ask the question,
why do people do the things thatthey do?
Well, if we don't have aChristian biblical worldview.
We can have all kinds of crazyanswers that are all over the
(07:15):
place, but at the very essence,at the very core of why bad
things happen, why people actthe way they do, especially on
the negative side, is becausethey are sinful, because they
have in Adam.
All have sinned, all havereceived the sin nature and all
(07:36):
commit sins.
Truly.
When we start to explore this,when it comes to creation, when
it comes to objective truth andthe truth of man and man is
sinful, it's only the Christianbiblical worldview that actually
helps to make sense of all theworld around us.
Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 1through 5.
Speaking of humanity, paul saysand you were dead in the
(07:59):
trespasses and sins in which youonce walked, following the
course of this world, followingthe prince of the power of the
air.
The course of this world,following the prince of the
power of the air, the spiritthat is now at work in the sons
of disobedience among whom weall once lived, in the passions
of our flesh, carrying out thedesires of the body and the mind
and were, by nature, childrenof wrath, like the rest of
(08:20):
mankind.
Paul's not painting a prettypicture here All humanity acting
true to their nature, thatwhich is that comes from the
internal desires, desires of thebody, desires of the flesh,
desires of the mind.
And he says that we are sons ofdisobedience, we are following
(08:41):
our own way, we're followingwhat guides us, what we think is
right in our own eyes, left toour natural self.
And this also shows anddemonstrates the need for
mankind to be redeemed.
Something has to occur in humanexperience that can change the
(09:03):
course here.
Because again, as he says, weall were dead in our trespasses
and sins.
Dead people aren't changingcourse, they're going to
continue in that state thatthey're in.
And so mankind is sinful.
And it tells us the need forredemption.
Again the passage goes on intoverse 4 of Ephesians 2,.
But God, being rich in mercybecause of the great love in
(09:27):
which he has loved us even whenwe were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together withChrist.
By grace, you have been saved.
We need God to work in thelives of dead people to make
them alive in Christ.
And that again goes to kind ofthe culmination, the pinnacle of
the Bible that shapes ourworldview.
(09:48):
Jesus Christ is the only way tosalvation.
Mankind is hopeless apart fromthe person in work of Jesus
Christ.
But that's stated in thenegative.
Here's the positive.
There is hope for all ofmankind in the person and work
of Jesus Christ.
For God so loved the world thathe sent his one and only son,
(10:12):
his only begotten son, thatwhoever believes in him shall
not perish but have everlastinglife.
There's hope in Christ, andJesus himself says I am the way.
In John 14, 6, the truth and thelife.
No one comes to the Fatherexcept through me.
So Jesus claims exclusivity.
(10:40):
To get to the Father, to get toheaven, to experience eternal
life in the presence of God,goes through the second member
of the Trinity, god in the flesh, jesus Christ.
The second member of theTrinity, god in the flesh, jesus
Christ.
This is foundational to theChristian biblical worldview.
You can't have a Christianworldview apart from
understanding.
Jesus is the only way tosalvation.
The apostles at the beginningof Acts recognize this as well.
(11:04):
In Acts, chapter 4, verse 12,peter proclaims there is
salvation in no one else, forthere is no other name under
heaven given among men by whichwe must be saved.
We must, as Christians in ourbiblical worldview, stand on the
(11:24):
exclusivity of Jesus alone forsalvation.
And it's not Jesus plus thechurch, it's not Jesus plus
something else.
It's not Jesus and it's Jesusalone.
There's salvation in no oneelse.
Another way.
There's salvation in nothingelse.
All religions do not lead toGod.
Nothing else, all religions donot lead to God.
(11:49):
Christ himself is the path tothe Father, as he himself claims
.
And then again, think about ourpurpose.
What is our purpose?
Why are we here?
I mean, this is one of thegreat existential questions.
Why am I alive?
What is my purpose in thisworld?
(12:18):
The Bible helps to shape ourworldview and understanding our
purpose.
In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 31,we are told whatever you do,
whether you eat or drink, do allto the glory of God.
So here, from the smallest ofthings to eating a meal or
having a sip of water orsomething, from the lowest to
the greatest, whatever the thingis that you do, do it to the
(12:38):
glory of God.
This means your purpose.
My purpose for being is toglorify the God who created me,
who is the sovereign Lord, whohas spoken objective truth, who
has revealed this truth in hisword, who has given the means of
(12:58):
redemption through Jesus Christ, the only way of salvation.
My job is to glorify him forwho he is and what he has done.
Matthew, chapter 22, verse 37.
Jesus is asked what is thegreatest commandment?
And he said you shall love theLord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your soul andwith all your mind.
(13:19):
This is the first and greatcommandment.
And the second is like it youshall love your neighbor as
yourself.
On these two commandmentsdepend all the law and the
prophets.
There's our purpose to love Godand to love our neighbor.
This comes to a biblicalworldview.
(13:42):
Well, if it was that simple, weall would just adopt this.
But we have competingworldviews that affect us even
as Christians.
As we try to think biblically,engage practically and live
faithfully, we recognize thereare competing worldviews.
And so let me just kind of shedsome light on some of the
(14:04):
various worldviews that arealive and well in our culture
today.
And again, by identifying them,we can try to isolate them and
push them aside and not let themkind of mix within our
Christianity.
And the first is secularhumanism.
Secular humanism believes thatman is at the center of all
(14:25):
things, believes that man is atthe center of all things, so
that the core of everything isthat man is happy, that mankind,
that all things exist and werecreated and serve man, I am at
the center of my life.
Everything that happensrevolves around me.
(14:47):
Now, that is certainly truewhen you're living a life
contrary to the scriptures.
It's certainly true when you'reliving according to Ephesians 1
, our own desires, the passionsof our flesh, our mind carrying
out the desires of the body.
That sounds very much likesecular humanism.
In the natural state of mankind, the unredeemed person, this is
(15:08):
their natural way of life andit's terrible.
Truth becomes relative when manbecomes the measure of all
things.
We must ask where is God?
God then becomes the servant ofmankind.
Now you mix that withChristianity, then the gospel
(15:30):
message, mixed with secularhumanism, sounds something like
the gospel is for you so thatyou don't go to hell when you
die.
The gospel is for you so thatyour life will have greater
purpose on earth.
And while those things are true, it still makes the gospel
about humanity when we have tounderstand.
(15:52):
The gospel is about the gloryof God in Jesus Christ and we
receive benefits of therighteousness and the obedience
and the sacrifice of the Son tothe Father and the obedience and
the sacrifice of the Son to theFather.
Here's another worldview that'salive and well in our culture,
competing with the biblicalworldview that's materialism.
(16:13):
Life is about possessions andsuccess.
Well, I don't think we have tolook far to see where this
worldview has collided with abiblical worldview and actually
has then kind of morphedtogether as the prosperity
gospel.
God wants you to have thosepossessions, god wants you to
have all this success, and so wetry to bring these two things
(16:33):
together and it creates a falseworldview.
But materialism as a secularthing is challenging.
Life is about possessions andsuccess.
I'm reminded of Jesus'sconversation with the rich young
ruler, which goes completelyagainst this.
He comes to Jesus and he sayswhat must I do to inherit
(16:57):
eternal life?
He's coming from amaterialistic worldview.
He's got to do something else.
He's got to acquire somethingelse to get eternal life.
Jesus says go.
You know, looking at him, lovedhim says go, sell all that you
have and give to the poor andcome follow me.
Now what Jesus is doing here ishe's attacking his idol.
(17:17):
He recognizes and knows thatthis rich young man has spent
his life acquiring for himselfpossessions, success, status.
And Jesus says materialism andChristianity will not mix, they
will not do.
If you want to follow me, youmust sacrifice your idols, your
(17:40):
worldview, and become mydisciple.
Materialism is all over,especially in the West, the
accumulation of stuff, the drivefor success, and it becomes
cutthroat.
We don't love our neighbor, wewant to get past our neighbor,
we want to crush our neighbor sothat we can rise in the
corporate ladder, and it goesagainst the biblical worldview.
(18:01):
Here's another one.
And it goes against thebiblical worldview.
Here's another onepostmodernism.
Postmodernism is a difficult andlarge term to define.
Let me just simply say, at itsvery core, at its tenets, the
belief is that there is noabsolute truth.
Even that statement kind offrustrates me, because that's an
absolute statement, buteverybody has their own truth.
(18:24):
So speak your truth, or?
Well, that can be true for you.
And this is now seen as theworldview of tolerance.
We, as it's, reaching a higherideal than Christianity, because
now we become tolerant.
(18:44):
You can believe what you needto believe.
Just don't impose your beliefson me.
That's my truth, that's yourtruth.
Again, this view that there isno absolute truth, I mean it's a
fallacy and we do recognizethat again, this goes against
the Christian biblical worldview.
So how does this mix withChristianity and create a
tainted worldview?
We bring postmodernism into ourunderstanding of Christianity
(19:10):
and we say well, this is truefor me.
I believe in Jesus Christ.
I believe that this is the waythat I'm supposed to live, but
who am I to tell that to someoneelse?
This is my truth and it's theirtruth if they believe it.
But if it's not, that's amixture, that's not a biblical
worldview, and so we need tofight against this kind of speak
(19:31):
your truth, I have my truth.
Postmodernism mixing withChristianity, also moral
relativism, which goes hand inhand.
It's probably almost asubcategory of postmodernism
that right and wrong are basedon one's personal or cultural
beliefs.
You can't tell me what's rightand wrong.
This is moral relativism.
(19:53):
And we look as Christians andsay the Ten Commandments tells
us what's right and wrong.
I don't get to define what'strue, I don't get to define
what's right and I don't get todefine what's wrong.
There are morals and they'renot relative.
They've been given by God, andwe also need to understand again
in our life and in our worldtoday that Christianity is
(20:16):
itself its own worldview andagain, this worldview states
that truth comes from God andour purpose is to know and to
glorify him.
And so I want to caution you andI want you to think about how
you view the world, whether itbe how you think about and see
other people, your reason forwhy they do the things they do,
(20:37):
your religious and politicalviews, how they come together.
There's a danger that manyChristians unknowingly adopt
non-biblical worldviews.
So I want to challenge you tothink carefully about how you
understand life.
Is there secular humanism,materialism, postmodernism,
moral relativism mixed with aform of Christian worldview?
(21:00):
And so let's think carefullyhow, then, biblical worldview
can transform everyday life forus as Christians, and I want to
give you a few points here.
First, a biblical worldviewhelps transform our life through
decision-making.
Psalm 119, 105 says your wordis a lamp to my feet and a light
(21:22):
to my path.
Here God's word helps guide ourlife, to shape our life in the
decisions that we make.
But more than just our decisionmaking, biblical worldview
transforms everyday life throughour work and our vocation.
Writing to the Colossians inchapter 3, verse 23, paul says
(21:43):
Whatever you do, work heartilyas for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord youwill receive the inheritance as
your reward.
Our work and our vocation isunto God, not to just simply our
employer, and I want toencourage you with this If you
are working unto God, you willbe the perpetual employee of the
(22:06):
month.
You will be the best worker inyour workplace.
Biblical worldview shapes andtransforms everyday life.
Through our relationships andour families we show biblical
love.
Our marriages are shaped byEphesians, chapter 5.
Husbands loving their wives,laying down their lives for
(22:28):
their wives 1 Peter, chapter 3,wives respecting their husbands
and again, in that wholerelationship, complimenting one
another and honoring andglorifying God in the home.
Parenting Paul addresses thisin Ephesians, chapter 6.
Fathers are not to provoketheir children but to discipline
(22:51):
them in love, to raise them upas they should.
Our ethics and morality we standfor biblical truth in a
compromised culture.
This is important to us becausewe stand against all the
worldviews that are present inour world today.
We're not conformed to thisworld, paul says, but we're
(23:11):
transformed by the renewal ofour mind that by testing you may
discern what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and
perfect.
So we are to stand for biblicalethics and morality, not based
off of what's going on in thesocial political world, but what
is contained in the word of God, and in doing so we engage our
(23:35):
culture faithfully.
Matthew, chapter 5, verse 13,.
Jesus says you are the salt ofthe earth.
But if the salt has lost itstaste, how shall its saltiness
be restored?
It is no longer good foranything except to be thrown out
and trampled under people'sfeet.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot behidden.
Nor do people light a lamp andput it under a basket, but on a
(23:58):
stand, and it gives light to allin the house In the same way.
Let your light shine beforeothers so that they may see your
good works and give glory toyour Father who is in heaven.
Be salt and light in our world.
Engage our culture through andwith a Christian biblical
worldview.
So let me encourage you Abiblical worldview must be
(24:23):
intentional.
It does not happen by accident.
You do not stumble into aChristian biblical worldview.
So let me encourage you Be inthe Bible.
It's hard to develop a biblicalworldview apart from the Bible.
Regular study of scripture iskey 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse
15.
(24:44):
Paul tells Timothy to study, toshow himself approved, rightly
handling the word of truth,cutting it straight.
So let me challenge you toevaluate your own worldview.
Where has it and is it shapedby culture instead of Scripture?
And I pray for you and all ofus that we would have wisdom and
(25:06):
discernment to live accordingto God's truth, the timeless
truth, a worldview that neverchanges, although our world is
constantly changing.
This is the constant God'struth and God's word abides
forever.
I want to thank you forlistening to the Pleasing God
podcast.
(25:27):
If you have any questions, I'dlove to hear from you.
You could reach out atquestions at
pleasinggodpodcastorg.
And remember 1 Thessalonians4.3,.
This is the will of God forsanctification.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!